Before I was elected to Congress, I worked as a consultant pharmacist for nursing homes and long-term care facilities for more than 20 years.
I reviewed each patient’s medication therapy on a monthly basis, monitored their lab work, made recommendations to physicians for dosage adjustments and drug therapy, and monitored for drug toxicity and interactions. I assisted and instructed nurses in the proper techniques of drug administration and consulted with them when called on for patient-specific concerns. I also consulted with family members and answered their questions about drug therapies for their loved ones.
Tragically, though, nursing homes and long-term care communities are often susceptible to fast-spreading illnesses. One winter, a nursing home I serviced did not order the flu vaccine in time. As a result, nearly 25% of the residents were killed by the virus. This was absolutely devastating, but it’s not an isolated incident.
It is well known how horrific and deadly it can be if a contagious disease is allowed to spread in these facilities, and COVID-19 has been no exception.
When the coronavirus first made its way to our shores from China, it hit nursing homes hard in Washington state. Common protocols to protect the residents of these facilities from outbreaks were thrown to the wayside, and lives were lost.
Shortly after the Washington state outbreak, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an order that forced nursing homes and long-term care facilities to accept COVID-19 positive patients from hospitals.
This was a death order. After that order was issued, COVID-positive residents were admitted back into nursing homes, and the virus spread like wildfire.
It was originally reported that the order resulted in over 8,000 avoidable deaths. Cuomo, of course, denied all responsibility and claimed he was following federal guidance. However, PolitiFact even rated this claim “mostly false.”
It has now come to light that there was a Cuomo cover-up. The New York state attorney general, a Democrat, investigated the Cuomo administration and found that it purposely underreported deaths in long-term care facilities by up to 50%. The attorney general found the nursing home order issued in March actually contributed to more than 12,000 deaths.
Soon after the attorney general’s report was released, Cuomo’s administration finally confirmed that thousands more nursing home residents died of COVID-19 than the state had previously acknowledged.
When asked about the cover-up and his deadly policies, Cuomo heartlessly responded, “who cares” where they died? “They died.”
Knowing the families of the nursing home residents I cared for, I know they would care, just as I’m sure the thousands of families who lost loved ones in New York care. I’m sure they are devastated, and they want and deserve answers.
Throughout the pandemic, the media glorified the governor. He wrote a book about leadership during the pandemic and commissioned a self-aggrandizing poster. He even came all the way down to my hometown of Savannah, Georgia, last year to lecture us on public health. All while his own failed policies were killing people, and his administration was distorting numbers to hide the deaths.
Those responsible must be held accountable. Elderly people died alone, sick with no one to hold their hands or administer last rights. Grieving family members couldn’t even hold funerals to bury the dead. And this was preventable.
Congress must ensure this is never allowed to happen again. Thinking about my patients in nursing homes who I knew over the years, I will do everything in my power to help.
Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter is a pharmacist and represents Georgia’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He serves on the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
